A Sneak Peek

I know that whenever I pick up a book, the first thing I look at is the table of contents. Here's a peek into what these wonderful authors are bringing to Numen Naturae:

Archetypal Herbalism by Jennifer Stickley

Jennifer brings her experience in transpersonal psychology, anthroposophy, and herbalism together in a beautiful description of archetypal herbalism in practice. She combines personal narrative with an academic and experiential understanding of psychology to unveil her unique perspective on plant/human interaction.

Engaging with archetypal herbalism aids us in developing a phenomenological, experiential, living relationship with plants and helps us discover the seeds buried deeply within our hearts, transforming and igniting, over and over again, the divine spark of the "I am."

The Line, the Cross, and the Cirle by Reverend Teri D. Ciacchi

Teri is a poet, priestess, and practitioner with years of experience in counseling, community-building, activism, and ritual. In this article Teri walks reader's through the practice of grounding and alignment for the intentional creation of sacred space, the primary act of the Magician.

To exert one’s will in an attempt to dominate one’s environment and cause change is very small and inherently short sighted. To attempt to control outcomes is to court folly. To ask that one be opened to the already Sacred realms, to ask to be shown where flow and harmony already exist, to be given the grace to perceive where relationship and connection are already aligned; this is the way of the Magickian.

The Birthright of the Magician by Pomegranate Doyle

Pomegranate Doyle of the Ask Pomegranate Podcast is a practitioner and teacher of the Tarot. In her essay Pom discusses the objects or tools associated with the Magician in the Tarot and elucidates the the ways each of these birthrights are an invitation for us to step into the fullness of our individual potential.

You are born, you are manifest. Because of this miracle you have responsibilities and rights. These birthrights are represented by the candle in the Magician’s hand, the knife, the wand, the cup, the pentacle on the table and the infinity sign above her head... You are invited to stand as the Magician does, knowing you belong to all the realms with the powers of the earth at your fingertips.

The Magician of the Tarot: Some History by Michael s. Howard

A teacher at heart, Michael has a Ph.D. in philosophy and years of professorship under his belt, as well as affiliation with Trionfi, a tarot history organization based in Germany, and Le Tarot Associazione Culturale in Italy for whom he contributes essays and translations on the subject of Tarot history. In Numen Naturae, Michael shares this passion with us in a densely informative essay on the origins of the Magician in the Tarot trump.

The card suggests metaphors with multiple meanings. On the one hand, if the four types of object are the four suits, the Magician could be the dealer in a game of cards. Each player receives a certain combination of cards... four types of capital, in various senses, for the players to use as they will. The dealer is a kind of little god giving each player his or her individual circumstances. To the extent that the four types of objects also symbolize the four elements, the one who manipulates them is a kind of creator-god, creating new things out of more basic elements.

Stepping Up with the Magician by Katharyn Waterfield

Katharyn is a psychotherapist in the Portland area whose realm of experience in depth psychology focuses on supporting people through major life transitions and navigating liminal spaces. In her piece inspired by her own personal process, Katharyn explores the relationship of the Magician to the god Hermes and how we can "prepare" ourselves to respond to his influence in our lives.

The Greek god Hermes, as the alchemical god of transformation, is the ultimate Magician and Trickster. He is the guardian of Thresholds, and is the traverser and the one who guides as we attempt to move between domains: Consciousness/unconsciousness, everyday world/underworld, known/unknown. He is the uniter of opposites and as we work to cross over conditions in our life, Hermes is there bridging, uniting, traversing boundaries: fear and faith, doubt and knowing, foolishness and wisdom, paralysis and willingness

Writing Magic by Paul Levy

Paul Levy is the Founder of "Awakening in the Dream Groups" in the Portland area. An experienced author and Buddhist practitioner, his work centers on the dreamlike nature of reality and is deeply steeped in the wisdom of C. G. Jung. In his article, Paul discusses everything from dreaming and writing to quantum physics, bringing a truly unique and valuable perspective to the subject of the Magician as an archetype and the magic inherent in all things.

As if “bewitched,” we have then entranced ourselves by our own innate unrealized genius for co-creating reality. It is as if we are powerful wizards wielding a magic wand, but seemingly disempowered by not realizing our own divine gift, we are using our power to create our world unconsciously, which is to say destructively. We have forgotten that we have reality-shaping powers at our disposal, thereby unwittingly placing ourselves in what William Blake calls “mind-forg’d manacles.” To the extent we have fallen under our own self-created spell, it is as if we have become dis-oriented (and deranged) magicians who have created a world for ourselves that doesn’t serve us, all the while thinking that we are just encountering—and being victimized by—an objective reality that we cannot change. The truth of our situation, simply put, is that we are geniuses with amnesia.

What Are We Doing Between the Rituals, and Interview with Eric Purdue

Eric is a Seattle-based magician and writer who was willing to share his brimming brilliance and wit for the Numen Naturae project in the form of an interview. Currently translating the works of Agrippa, Eric shares insights on the role of the magician and the definition of magic as it is understood in the realm of Western Ceremonial praxis.

Agrippa talks a lot about the Magician’s imagination, his “imaginative spirit”. Today we tend to speak of things as a sort of dichotomy where on one hand you have reality which is physical, then you have the imagination which can be important for certain things, but the imagination doesn’t actually have “reality” to it. From a traditional standpoint, the imagination is just as much reality because your imaginative virtue as a magician is linked with the imaginative virtue of (ultimately) God, but more immediately to the anima mundi.

The Nature of Protection by Casandra Johns

Casandra Johns is a mother, herbalist, artist, and owner of House of Hands. In her article, Casandra unpacks the nature of the protection offered by Yarrow and the archetype of the Magician as a force rooted in self-awareness, healthy boundaries, and a willingness to explore the unknown and unconscious aspects of our shadow.

By teaching us about who we are, Yarrow allows us to approach the unknown, to understand Self in relation to Other. It assists us in approaching this with curiosity rather than the defensiveness that so many of us are taught. When I know who I am I can hold my assumptions and beliefs with a lighter grip and allow the potential for change. When I know who I am I am not threatened by the prospect of change. In freeing the Self from these fetters, Yarrow allows us to nurture our instinct and intuition as guides.

Why-Arrow and the Wounded Heel by Jonathan Hadas Edwards

Herbalist, acupuncturist, writer, and diviner Jonathan Edwards brings a wonderful essay to the mix exploring the history of Yarrow in mythology. He combines an understanding of Chinese herbalism and the I Ching with his insightful take on myth and symbol to guide the reader along a personal journey of healing.

Divination methods—‘games of the gods’—were and are intended to “provoke omens” (in Robert Moss’ memorable phrase) in order to help people become conscious of their particular threads of affinity, purpose, or karmic entanglement. These weird threads (from the Anglo-Saxon wyrd, or fate) are the themes we rub up against again and again at life’s fateful junctures as we seek to untangle the snarl and free the gifts we’ve brought with us to life.

Yarrow and the Path of the Magician by Scott Kloos

Scott Kloos Is a marvelous writer, herbalist, father, and teacher in the Portland area. His piece in Numen Naturae is part ritual/part elucidation, examining the nature of trans-species communication and the uniques ways which Yarrow and the Magician challenge and support us.

The plants illuminate, each in their own way, the energetic blockages caused by the wounds and traumas we have suffered in this life and others. Through dream-like visions, auditory messages, bodily sensations, memories of past experience, direct intervention through energetic release, or other forms of trans-species communication, the intelligent and wise plant teacher presents us with opportunities to understand the blockages that keep us separate or that inhibit our full expression as humans. In this way the plants can help us transform ourselves on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and energetic levels.